Tales from India

I bought this for my sons, ages 7 and 8, who love mythology. We've found some other books on Indian mythology we have enjoyed more (including Aru Shah and the End of Time and Ramayana: Divine Loophole) but they have also enjoyed the pictures and stories in this book.

I really like this author - her writing is easily understandable and the illustrations in this book are truly beautiful. My kids loved reading the stories out loud.

Nice stories. Well written and illustrated.

Beautiful book!

Cool stories!

The stories are rather gross and depressing. My family is multiracial and I thought it would be a good idea to introduce them to some of their ancestral heritage. However, I find myself reading the Berenstain Bears books aloud instead.

My 5 year old and I love reading about mythology... we've read Greek, Egyptian and now Indian and we love it as much as the Greek. Too bad the book only has 13 stories. We enjoy this book's beautiful illustrations and narration. My daughter and I draw comparisons between the stories we read and the ones we read in Greek mythology (and I from the Bible... I haven't read it to her yet). It was very interesting to read about Manu and how he was warned by Brahma to build an ark and gather seeds from every "land" so he could be saved from the upcoming flood... hello Noah's ark! And tonight we read about Prince Rama trying to rescue his wife Sita from the king of demons who had kidnapped her, and it reminded us a lot of Hedes and Persephone's story.Prior to this book we read The little book of Hindu deities by Patel, Sanjay, although my daughter loved it, I found it lacking: I was left intrigued as to how the Indians believed (believe?) to be the beginning before Brahma and I wanted stories not a mere synopsis with no story about the gods and their avatar, this book delivered and has us wanting more.The stories are just a couple of pages long and perfect to read before bed (if you and child wish to...)

Reason for Reading: I enjoy reading mythology. Hindu mythology is relatively new to me and I have been reading it a bit this year.This is a beautiful large illustrated children's book that can be read by anyone interested in the stories of Hindu mythology. The book starts with the tales of creation, the creation of the gods, creation of man and finally various adventures of the gods and half-gods. I find the stories to be much more fantastical than other mythology but they hold strong to the same themes of good vs. evil, gods vs. man, and stories of how things came to be. I also find the Hindi tales to be much more romantic than others as well. There are many stories of love along with warriors and battles. Many of the Hindu gods are introduced here and this is an excellent book for an introduction to Hindu mythology.The illustrations are beautiful and the author has used authentic Indian art styles from the past and present, especially using miniature painting for the fine details of her paintings. The gods are fantastic creatures with many arms, parts human/parts animal, or simply wondrous creatures and they come to their full splendour under Hall's brush. A beautiful book to add to any mythology collection and perfect as a primer on basic Hindu myths.

Great story telling, not too long and not too short stories, bought this for a friend and will be buying one for myself as a beautiful reference to Hindu mythology.... or is it!!

I love this book! So much so I bought one for myself and i'm planning to get one for my neice for her birthday. Such lovely depictions of Indian stories.

Really good

I am Indian and I bought a number of copies of this book for my nieces and nephews as presents. I wanted them to have a nicely illustrated and nicely written collection of the stories that we hear as kids. I was really impressed. It had a big selection of stories, including the usual ones, like Ram and Krishna ones. But it also included lesser known ones, such as Manu's Ark. It was extremely beautiful and every page had absolutely gorgeous illustrations. Also, the design on the pages separating the stories is spectacular. I would definitely buy this again and again as a gift. I am also considering buying the other ones from this series (I think it is called "Tales from China") for the next round of birthdays.Buy this book for your kids, it's so friggen awesome!!

Ein wunderschoenes, edeles Hardback Buchvoll mit wunderbaren Geschichten und mit den aller- schoensten Illustrationen. Das Buch ist fuer jede Altersgruppe gemeint. Man kann als Erwachsener das Buch sowohl einem Kind gut vorlesen, als auch einem Teenager gut schenken. Die Autorin weckt mit ihrer Erzaehlkunst jegliches Interesse an Indien und ihre Mythos. Die Bilder allein machen der reich-bebilderten Band zu einem wahren Schmuckstück.A must have for any family with links to India or a love for Indian mythology, for child and adult alike. The stories are beautifully told, wonderful to read out loud to children, wonderful as a gift. The excellent illustrations make the book a real treasure.